NYT: Looking for the Angry Populists in Suburbia
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Published: January 28, 2007
....As they plan their strategy on Capitol Hill and begin the 2008 presidential campaign, the leaders of the Democratic Party are betting that the temporary swings of the economic cycle no longer have the political power they once did.
Instead, they say, the economic shocks of recent years — technological change, globalization, the decline of labor unions and business icons like Ford Motor Company — have left many swing voters feeling anxious and insecure about the future.
After years of fighting losing battles against tax cuts, Democrats argue that this economic anxiety has altered the political landscape, making swing voters open to a new role for government — a form of what Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois has called “suburban populism.”
With issues like energy policy, immigration and health care having gone largely unaddressed in recent years, Democrats see a way to define themselves as the party that can help Americans survive the 21st-century economy.
An unanswered question, though, is whether suburban populism can still have appeal during good economic times.
“The little ups and downs of the economy are not what’s bothering the average American, as much as it is the feeling that there are large forces that buffet them around,” said Senator Charles Schumer of New York, whose book laying out an agenda for the party was published last week. “In the past, the attitude was, ‘Get government out of the way.’ And now it’s, ‘Gee, I may need it.’ ”...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28leon.html
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